January 10th, 2008
Sprint And Verizon Raise Fees, Open Loophole To Cancel For Free…
Related Post:
Getting Out Of A Cell Phone Contract?
According to the terms of Sprint and Verizon’s service contracts if they change your rates, you have the right to cancel without paying an early termination fee.
You must actually cancel the service, you can’t just cancel your contract and keep the service on a month-to-month basis. You should be able to get a representative to allow you to port your number to another provider, just be sure that they notate the account that the ETF should be waived.
There is a blackout period with all carriers after you cancel service, so you won’t be able to cancel and then resign with the same company just to get a free phone.
It may take repeated calls to customer service until you find a rep willing to release you from your contract.
Be sure to make note of the rep’s ID number in case there are any problems after your service is canceled.
Sprint:
“Beginning January 1, 2008 Sprint will asses 2 new monthly charges per line. An administrative charge of $.75 and a regulatory charge of $.20 to help defray the cost on us that other telecommunications carriers charge Sprint…The Administrative Charge is not a tax and is not an amount we are required to collect from you by law.”
Verizon:
“If you are not currently subscribed to a Messaging Package, beginning March 2, 2008, the price for sending Text Messages to the U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico – as well as the price for receiving Text Messages from anywhere – will increase from $0.15 to $0.20 per message per recipient….If you do subscribe to a Messaging Package, your package rates will stay the same.”
January 10th, 2008 at 2:09 am
any ways u know how to get out of cingular? (i am on a family plan)
January 10th, 2008 at 8:18 am
The way i understood it, even if you have a messaging plan on verizon, you can still get out because they would be charging you more for any message that you went over your allotted amount, thereby causing an “adverse effect”
January 10th, 2008 at 9:05 am
re(tards) verizon: if I cancel my text msg prior to march – will it matter I had it, or will they still let me out? huh…. thoughts?
January 10th, 2008 at 10:50 am
to get out of cingular you need to go from rep to rep and say you r moving give them a zip where thy have no service some times thy ask for proof but not always you will need to go to a few reps till you get the nice one to do it for you
January 10th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
twinzn1mom
That should work. Even if you have it you should be able to find a rep who will let you go because you were “gonna cancel” and now it’s going to cost you more…
January 10th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I’ve heard that this would not work with Verizon, since they can say it doesn’t apply to you (most people have messaging packages), and even if you cancel the messaging package and then call, they will know about it.
I’ve also heard that Sprint will tell you that they will credit you the $.95 or whatever it is for the remainder of your contract.
Finally, with Cingular, it’s not that easy to say you moved. They require very detailed proof. But if you live somewhere in the mountains that does not have Cingular, you would be able to prove it and you’re good to go.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
It will work, it just requires finding the right rep.
I’m not saying it won’t take 15 or more tries, but it is within your right to cancel.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
what about nextel?
January 10th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
funny thing is, at least Sprint, the rates didn’t actually go up for taxes and fees. They started charging new fees, and stopped charging others (I got that letter too).
For some people, it might go up, for others (like me, I did the math) I’m actually paying LESS in taxes and fees.
Well, either way, its a “change” in what you have to pay, so I suppose that qualifies as a contract loophole.
Its just kinda funny calling to cancel because you’re paying less…
January 10th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
True, technically you are paying less.
However that’s simply because the feds are dropping cellular taxes.
Sprint is being quite sneaky by adding new “fees” to every phone line to offset the lower taxes.
As they are adding a non-federally mandated fee, you have the full right to opt-out rather than pay their new fee.
January 10th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Well, I called and they “miraculously” found a contract that’s $10 cheaper than the last time I called… so it saves me $120 a year! Thanks Dan.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Any recommendations for a good new at&t plan?
January 10th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
How long do I have to cancel my verizon plan,
& could they tell me since I dont use text so much that I cant cancel?
Thanks
January 10th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
any ideas (zip codes) where i should be “moving to” yo get out of cingular?
January 10th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
to mendel 05401
January 11th, 2008 at 12:22 am
does any one know if i just stated a text plan last month can i tell them i was just trying it out
January 11th, 2008 at 1:01 am
so any ideas on what i should tell cingular when i say im monving to burlington vt. do they ask for a street adress……… and other q’s?
January 13th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
I canceled verizon and I have a text messaging plan. I canceled within 5 minutes. I called from my other cell phone and refused to give them my name or cell number so they would not be able to notate my account. The CSR knew what i was trying to do and said it had no affect on me. I hung up and redialed and spoke to someone another nicer CSR.
1) I asked her if she was aware about the price increase. She said yes!
2) I asked her if she was aware that this was a breach in my contract and that i would be allowed to cancel my service with no ETF. She put me on hold and came back 3 minutes later and said i was correct.
THEN, i gave her my phone number and and she canceled my service.
Good luck to you all!!!
January 15th, 2008 at 11:36 am
what is the best way to get an American “english speaking” rep at Sprint?
January 15th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Interesting ideas here.
Only problem: Don’t any of you have a problem with lying and deception — even where you stand to benefit?
January 16th, 2008 at 12:59 am
So… Verizon is being really re(tard)ed with me and long story short, they are shafting me on my upgrade.
Am I wrong to think that I can go sign up for a new account, bargain and get a new phone that actually works, then call a few days later about the text price plan increase, and cancel my service and get away with a heavily discounted new phone I can now use for my current account?
January 29th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
wait i dont get it how do i cancel my verizon accout….and what if i only want to cancel one number on the plan….. what do i do? i need to get out of verizon and fast!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 18th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Sprint is fighting this tooth and nail. I knew about the rate increase and cancelled in December, having been told that the early termination fee would not be charged to my account. Still got charged the ETF.
Sprint is a bunch of bitches that deserve the recession to eliminate their horrendous company. Good riddance.